Critical, stable F2 racer Juan Manuel Correa in coma

Alan Baldwin

AAP

Sunday, 8 September 2019 10:55 am

Alex Peroni crash

Juan Manuel Correa is in an induced coma after the Belgian F2 crash which killed Anthoine Hubert.Credit: EPA

American-Ecuadorian Formula Two driver Juan Manuel Correa has been placed in an induced coma after suffering acute respiratory failure following last weekend's crash which killed Frenchman Anthoine Hubert.

In a statement on Saturday, his parents said the 20-year-old was in a critical but stable condition in a London hospital.

Correa suffered a spinal injury and fractured his legs in Saturday's crash during the support race for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

He was transferred to Britain on Tuesday from a hospital in Belgium.

Correa, a development driver for the Alfa Romeo F1 team and grandson of former Ecuadorian president Rodrigo Borja, underwent more than four hours of surgery in Liege after the accident.

"As time has progressed, new complications have surfaced as a consequence of the massive impact he suffered Saturday in Belgium," Juan Carlos and Maria Correa said.

"On his arrival to London, Juan Manuel was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome. This is an injury considered common in high-impact accidents such as this one."

The family said Correa had fallen into acute respiratory failure and been placed in an "induced state of unconsciousness and under ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support)".